


Seeking Comfort

by YoshiFawful64



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Heart-to-Heart, M/M, One Shot, Romance, Symbiotic Relationship, relationship building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 04:13:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17015511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoshiFawful64/pseuds/YoshiFawful64
Summary: Distraught in the aftermath of the princesses' infiltration to the Fright Zone, Kyle turns to the one person who just might listen to him.





	Seeking Comfort

Kyle sighed. Ever since the princess invasion into the Fright Zone had ended, he couldn't get his mind off that conversation. There was so much more he had wanted to say, and even more now, but he never got the chance.

He needed to get everything off his chest, but who could he talk to now? Adora was gone. Lonnie would just mock him, at best. So would Catra. He didn't even know Scorpia, and it went without saying that a heart-to-heart with Shadow Weaver would be… inadvisable.

Just then, the swish of a door alerted him to another person entering the locker room. As soon as Kyle saw the green scales, it hit him. Rogelio may not usually pay much heed to Kyle — or anyone else outside of training, for that matter — but what few occasional acts of kindness Kyle received usually came from him (or occasionally Adora, before she left the Horde). Besides, the reptile's silent nature meant Kyle probably couldn't get a much worse reaction from him than a disgruntled huff.

Kyle steeled himself as best he could. "Hey, Rogelio? Do you mind if I talk to you for a bit?"

Rogelio didn't say anything and his expression didn't seem to change much, but he sat down and turned to face Kyle. He took that as a sign to go on.

"I've… I've never really felt at home here. Or… even comfortable. Everyone always looks down on me, and makes fun of me, and I don't think anyone here really… cares about me at all." He drooped his head. "I might as well move to the sewers and I doubt anyone would mind. In fact, they'd probably just be happy to have me out of the way."

Despite how hard it had been to start talking, his words started to tumble out almost on their own now. He wasn't sure he could stop them if he wanted to. "But when Catra and Scorpia brought back those prisoners, I got to talking with one of them, and I kinda became friends with him, but then the princesses attacked and I got yanked away and before I knew it, he was gone!" He was barely even aware of Rogelio's presence by now. "And now there's this part of me that keeps saying that that was my only chance, and I messed it up somehow, and now I'll spend the rest of my life miserable and lonely, and I… I…"

As he wound down from his near-hyperventilation, it started to dawn on Kyle just how much he'd divulged. He'd been counting on Rogelio to not tell the girls, but what if he did? There'd be no end to the scorn and bullying. And if word got back to Shadow Weaver that he'd talked with Bow, let alone given him information—

A gentle weight fell on his shoulder.

"I understand. I'll try to get the others to ease off," Rogelio said, hand supportively resting on his shoulder.

It took Kyle a moment to process the fact Rogelio had actually said something, let alone what. He didn't think he'd ever seen the reptile even acknowledge the existence of emotions before, but here he was, offering to look out for him. Tears welled up in his eyes. "Thank you." On a hopeful whim, he asked, "Could I… talk to you some more?"

Rogelio simply nodded.

Kyle smiled.

* * *

Kyle and Rogelio met up a few times over the next week. A good chunk of those meetings were spent on Kyle talking more about his numerous issues. Rogelio always listened patiently, and while he never said much more than a sentence or two, his words were comforting.

They also found time to have fun with what meager recreational activities the Fright Zone had to offer. At least, Kyle was having fun. Rogelio's expression remained mostly neutral throughout their time together — or maybe Kyle just couldn't properly read the way his reptilian face expressed emotion. Nevertheless, Kyle was glad to be enjoying someone else's company for once.

"…So yeah, I pretty much grew up in the Fright Zone," he explained over lunch. "And in that whole time, I've never really fit in here, or had any friends—"

Something made Kyle halt. Though Rogelio's eyes only shifted slightly in reaction, Kyle realized he could distinguish the curiosity and concern in them. What's more, the thing that made him stop in the first place was only clearer to him now. The look on Rogelio's face while he was listening to Kyle wasn't just patience — it was rapt, compassionate attention. With that new understanding warming his heart, he amended his statement, "…besides you, that is."

He really was getting better at reading Rogelio's expressions — that was definitely a smile.

* * *

Late that night, Kyle arrived at the bedroom to find Rogelio as the only one there. Maybe the others were all running around the Fright Zone, or maybe they were on a mission — he usually wasn't told about those, which was starting not to bother him.

Kyle gave a quick smile and wave, then went to climb over Rogelio's bunk to his own—

"I never really fit in either. Even when I lived among my own kind as a child, before I was taken to the Horde." It came totally unprompted, stopping Kyle in his tracks. He dropped back down as Rogelio continued, "Coming here didn't help, either. I tried to make friends at first, but it didn't take me long to figure out that it didn't tend to go well for me. Maybe it was because the people here just didn't want any friendship, but probably not. I think I'm just bad at it."

Kyle sat down next to Rogelio as quietly as possible. Even during the last week, he'd barely ever heard Rogelio talk about himself, let alone anything personal. Whatever had made him open up like this, the last thing Kyle wanted to do was snap him out of it.

"But I was good at the training, and the better I did, the nicer everyone treated me. Eventually, I decided to focus entirely on improving my skills, and gave up on trying to talk to anyone. I started to get some respect, even admiration, but I still had no one to call a friend. Just classmates. I told myself I was fine with it, but…" Rogelio heaved a deep sigh. "…I could only convince myself of that for so long."

When it was clear that Rogelio would no longer go on, Kyle got up and hugged him. Though Rogelio's face didn't show it, his body was rigid — he must've been nervous about this. "That's awful," Kyle said. "But… you've got me now, right? You can talk to me any time you like, I promise. And for the record, I think you're great at friendship."

The tension seemed to leave Rogelio's body, and he hugged back tightly. "Thank you," he whispered into Kyle ear.

For a while, they simply stayed that way in each other's silent embrace, until Rogelio eventually let go. 

"Anything else you want to talk about?" Kyle asked.

Looking directly into Rogelio's eyes, he could see the hesitation flickering through them. Rogelio briefly opened his mouth, but then shut it again and turned his head away, to Kyle's disappointment.

Figuring that pressing the issue would likely do more harm than good, Kyle patted Rogelio on the shoulder and said, "It's okay. You'll get there," then climbed up to his bunk and bid him good night.

* * *

In the following days, Kyle and Rogelio's friendship grew stronger, and spending time together felt more natural each day. Rogelio even talked more, though he declined to go into any of his own matters.

Kyle could tell something was still bothering him, though. Rogelio was trying to conceal it, but there were moments where just when they were getting comfortable, he would suddenly tense up and stop what he was doing. Kyle usually asked what was wrong, but Rogelio always clammed up and refused to say anything for a while.

When it happened for the second time in a single day, Kyle finally decided he'd have to press the issue.

After a quick exhale to prep himself, he said, "Look, Rogelio, you'll have to talk about this sooner or later. It's clearly eating at you." Kyle moved a little to the side so he could look Rogelio in the eye. "It's gonna be okay, I promise. It's just us here, no one else needs to know about it. I… I understand if it's something you don't want to talk about, but…" He bit his lip. "I just want to help you, like you've helped me, you know?"

Rogelio seemed to struggle with himself for a moment. Then his features finally softened, and he hung his head slightly and said, "Alright. You'd probably figure it out yourself anyway, at this rate."

"I…" Rogelio started, only to stop immediately. He took a deep breath. "For the longest time… since soon after we first met, I've been in love with you."

"Y— whuh?" Kyle floundered.

"You always tried to be so kind and friendly to everyone, even when you got nothing in return. At the time, I was already trying to shut off other people, but I still appreciated it. It didn't take long for those feelings to turn romantic." With his cheeks turning a slightly darker tint of green, Rogelio added, "It… certainly didn't hurt that you've always been so darn cute."

Kyle tried to work his mouth, but no words would come out. Rogelio pressed on.

"I thought about approaching you many times over the years, but I could never gather the courage to break through my own self-isolation. I tried to at least take care of you when I could, but I was afraid you'd catch on to how I felt and react badly, so I made it as impersonal as possible. I'm… I'm sorry I was so cowardly. I should've tried to help you more."

Somewhere, in a small part in the recesses of his mind that weren't completely preoccupied with processing Rogelio's words, Kyle remembered having his arm bandaged by Rogelio after a combat sim. Rogelio's arm laying casually on his shoulder. Most of the rare acts of caring he'd ever received until two weeks ago.

Another small part noted that Rogelio had fallen back on his most formal tone of voice. Before now, he only seemed to use it when the higher-ups were particularly upset — when the potential backlash was great, but outweighed by what needed to be said.

"Of course, after the princesses attacked, we became friends. For the first time, I felt like I was learning how to act around someone. How to be friends. I liked it," Rogelio said, a brief smile gracing his lips. "But it also meant that my feelings for you flared up like never before. That's why I've been so weird this last week." Hesitantly, he added, "I… I hope this isn't too uncomfortable for you, and we can… can continue to be friends."

Kyle's mind was busy reeling at everything he'd just heard, the revelations buzzing around his head. But somehow, all he could think about was how much he enjoyed spending time with Rogelio, and how nice his smooth scales felt to the touch, and how handsome he was, and how much Kyle wanted him to—

"Kiss me."

As soon as Kyle realized what he'd blurted out loud, he clamped his hands over his mouth, face burning with the strongest blush of his life.

Rogelio, meanwhile, had immediately snapped to attention. "Did you just—" uncharacteristically flustered, he rapidly shook his head, then said, "No, no, I heard you just fine, I… what I should ask is…" he exhaled slowly. "Did you mean it?"

Overwhelmed by the emotions coursing through him, it was all Kyle could do to slowly nod his head.

Rogelio gently, carefully, pulled Kyle's arms away from his face. Kyle's heart pounded like mad as Rogelio placed a hand on his cheek, caressing it softly, and slowly pulled his head forward. Kyle couldn't stop gazing into his steadily approaching eyes.

Their lips met.

Kyle wrapped his arms around Rogelio's back as he felt a scaled arm against his own back, both holding each other close while they kissed for what seemed like a blissfully unending period of time.

"There's a lot of unrest going around, you know," Rogelio said when they finally parted, "and I think you know better than I do that the Fright Zone is not a good place for us. To be honest, I'm worried about the future. It may be in our best interests to follow Adora's example and leave the Horde, but I don't know how the Rebellion would receive us." He gave Kyle a look of utmost care and assurance. "But I promise you: wherever you decide to go, I'll go too, for as long as you'll have me."

"I don't know what we should do yet, but I have a feeling we'll be fine as long as we stick together. And hey—" Kyle smiled. "I'll be there for you."

"I know," Rogelio said, grinning more openly than Kyle had ever seen before, "and I'll be there for you too."

They kissed again.


End file.
